tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8358039.post414313300365055076..comments2024-03-25T15:17:04.488-07:00Comments on Captain Capitalism: Potemkin WomenCaptain Capitalismhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05620212946121617985noreply@blogger.comBlogger47125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8358039.post-88310265938578158692013-03-29T00:51:13.382-07:002013-03-29T00:51:13.382-07:00To put a social scientist twist on this: after all...To put a social scientist twist on this: after all the "achievements" of feminists during the last 30 years in the workplace, they've never been unhappier. <br /><br />Guess you really CAN'T have it all...<br /><br />http://www.nber.org/papers/w14969DUDEMANhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07813731132493801024noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8358039.post-57978061132047012592013-03-27T21:39:54.709-07:002013-03-27T21:39:54.709-07:00Redneck Joe's story made me laugh. Good for hi...Redneck Joe's story made me laugh. Good for him! A few years ago I had a sort of scruffy man come in to my workplace. He didn't say much but had a few questions,so I took it from there trying to help/put him at ease. As he was about to leave I said "I should have introduced myself,I am so sorry..I am Sally Smalltown." He said "You are a very kind woman,thank you for your help. I'm Alex AutoEmpire." He was moving to the area and wanted to see how he would be treated. We all passed with flying colors apparently. We like him for himself, but I won't lie, the town sure has benefited from his generosity. You just never know.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8358039.post-1283891081445381992013-03-27T17:43:28.094-07:002013-03-27T17:43:28.094-07:00This is only somewhat related, but am I the only o...This is only somewhat related, but am I the only one who has noticed the change in tone on the right in the last five or ten years? It seems like a ton of the guys who once would have advocated making your job your life because the market demands it are increasingly throwing their hands up and saying "Whatever, find a job that requires little work and pays well and use the proceeds to bang Czech girls / enjoy time with the wife and kids / climb mountains / play video games, etc."<br /><br />The consumerist culture, the terrible economy, the games and politics involved in having a good career all produced men who don't even care to play along and keep our Potemkin society running. It's a good thing.<br /><br />P.S. Club girls, especially of the credit card variety, are the worst women on the planet. Hang out with them for a bit and you'll want to date librarians for the rest of your life.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8358039.post-81031883168160799262013-03-27T17:10:36.434-07:002013-03-27T17:10:36.434-07:00"Historians debate how serious the fakery was...<i>"Historians debate how serious the fakery was, since many of the contemporaneous accounts of the shenanigans in Catherine's court were hugely exaggerated."</i><br /><br />Not all of them.Mister Ednoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8358039.post-36000514126201933082013-03-27T14:13:20.706-07:002013-03-27T14:13:20.706-07:00The 'Game' equivalent term is "Fake i...The 'Game' equivalent term is "Fake it until you make it".<br /><br />Far easier or less expensive to do internally than externally.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8358039.post-38538538934487950942013-03-27T14:06:07.951-07:002013-03-27T14:06:07.951-07:00I was married to one of these and financed it for ...I was married to one of these and financed it for several years (the guy in between the marriage and divorce comment of the Captain's)She was always starting new "businesses" that involved a lot of socializing and fancy clothes but didn't make any money. She was always complaining loudly to her friends about how hard it was to be a mother, run the house, and run her "sucessful" business. Our house looked like hell, the kids were sick of her unreliability, and I was financing her businesses, but other people wouldn't have been able to see those things.<br /><br />After our inevitable divorce, I had much happier kids that I was raising, the house looked great, and suddenly I had money to spend on fun things.<br /><br />She drove her next husband into bankruptcy while buying a fancy sports car and commenting on facebook about how much she loved being a mother (the kids never visited her).<br /><br />Then he divorced her and now she's in her 40s and her looks have faded. She's having trouble finding husband #3 and she actually has to support herself, but has no real skills.<br /> <br />So she became a big Obama supporter and works for Americorps, land of the useless women.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8358039.post-41715621209145383152013-03-27T13:50:42.917-07:002013-03-27T13:50:42.917-07:00I am wholly sympathetic to the tenor of this piece...I am wholly sympathetic to the tenor of this piece, and agree that this demographic of women certainly exists. And, yeah, they're sad and pathetic and it's kinda fun to watch them crash and burn. But I also thought while reading it that we're just making fun of them for acting in a way that certain men always have, since the beginning of time. Buying things they can't afford, talking loud, acting successful, while in reality they're empty and sad and scared. Guys like this are so common that we don't even think to mention it. They've always been around. They were around in middle school. They fake their way through life. And often at some point all their bullshit catches up with them. So what? I think the only reason we notice is because women have only recently started acting the same way. And by the same way, I mean faking it like men traditionally have, rather than more traditional female options (marrying some dude you don't like just to get by). Yeah, they're misguided and entitled and annoying, but so are the dudes who are just like them. Just my 2 cents.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8358039.post-5222881199653993882013-03-27T13:22:31.404-07:002013-03-27T13:22:31.404-07:00Cappy, you old dog! By the sound of it, you'v...Cappy, you old dog! By the sound of it, you've been drinking some well-aged Moldbug! Careful, that stuff can get addictive. One minute you're noting the Potemkin woman phenomenon and the next minute you're realizing <a href="http://unqualified-reservations.blogspot.com/2012/11/adore-river-of-meat.html" rel="nofollow">WHY they're made that way!</a><br /><br />(Spoiler: So that <a href="http://unqualified-reservations.blogspot.com/2008/06/ol8-reset-is-not-revolution.html" rel="nofollow">members of the Kosmosmol</a> can use them as "disinterested parties" to enforce the state's will through the Inner and Outer parties.)<br />Dystopia Maxhttp://www.mypostingcareer.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8358039.post-59998938131253111252013-03-27T13:20:47.288-07:002013-03-27T13:20:47.288-07:00One can break these women. Don't be mean about...One can break these women. Don't be mean about it. Do it to save them. Yes, I did say that. <br />Many are worth saving. Besides, it is what their Potemkin game is all about, down deep. Naut Righthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10521013148002958824noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8358039.post-18095366804576388872013-03-27T12:48:27.251-07:002013-03-27T12:48:27.251-07:00Great turn of a phrase.
This old article treads ...Great turn of a phrase. <br /><br />This old article treads the same ground, with a delightfully snarky title.<br /><br />http://www.dallasobserver.com/2007-11-29/news/douchebags-in-the-mist/full/<br /><br />IllTemperedCurnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8358039.post-26142613306298565902013-03-27T12:13:32.043-07:002013-03-27T12:13:32.043-07:00The sad truth is society values looks in a woman a...The sad truth is society values looks in a woman and earnings in a man. A woman's value thus shrinks as she ages and a man's generally grows. <br /><br />Your potemkin women just overrated their own value until it was too late and had nothing to fall back on.<br /><br />Sad really, and if they weren't so snotty before their value ran out we might have some sympathy. Then again if they werent so snotty they probably would be happy.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8358039.post-70718432017432096742013-03-27T11:44:57.641-07:002013-03-27T11:44:57.641-07:00Potemkin woman describes my mother to a T.
She wa...Potemkin woman describes my mother to a T.<br /><br />She was a great mother, who couldn't stand her kids, but insisted to teach us to act like everything was perfect.<br /><br />She was a great homemaker, who couldn't make a home, but sure made a nice facsimile of one for guests.<br /><br />She was a great worker, who couldn't arrive on time, and kept her job god alone knows how.<br /><br />She was a great dresser. Well, gotta give them that, they tend to be great dressers.<br /><br />It's a sad thing for the kids. I've had to rebuild my mental makeup from practically ground up because I was left in the care of someone who would have broken most people, because he neither cared nor asked for the responsibility.<br /><br />I guess one good thing to come of it is that I'm pretty much immune to torture.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8358039.post-72675113102645042202013-03-27T11:38:26.297-07:002013-03-27T11:38:26.297-07:00For those asking, yes, the Lawyer Woman most certa...For those asking, yes, the Lawyer Woman most certainly did earn her junior partnership. She was dedicated to her career and there was NO affirmative action. I've rarely seen somebody work that much and be that professional.<br /><br />However, that is ALL she dedicated herself to and would accept no less in her social aspects of life as well as her friends. <br /><br />It could as well have just been a guy, the results would have been the same - loneliness.Captain Capitalismhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05620212946121617985noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8358039.post-66381866111763645762013-03-27T11:37:28.159-07:002013-03-27T11:37:28.159-07:00Nice to have a term for them that doesn't ryhm...Nice to have a term for them that doesn't ryhme with witch - even if that term is unfair to dogs.<br /><br />I've had run in with them when dressed down. One recently sniffed at me when I was dressed down: the coffee slinger calling me Dr. and asking how was Shanghai made her turn funny colors. Dentonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08810776884651700820noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8358039.post-52753969953034149732013-03-27T11:34:49.737-07:002013-03-27T11:34:49.737-07:00Very nice piece. I've met these before and nev...Very nice piece. I've met these before and never had a term for them, well that I'll type here. My latest one was at a local cafe in stained jeans and a raggity hoodie, where I tried to chat her up in line. I got the sniff, then my coffee with "Hi Dr.... I thought you were in Shanghai this week" from my regular coffee slinger. She visibly froze. Dentonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08810776884651700820noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8358039.post-10670881626358785372013-03-27T10:57:55.381-07:002013-03-27T10:57:55.381-07:00Brilliant term, "Potemkin Women." I'...Brilliant term, "Potemkin Women." I'm predicting it will catch on. Potemkin Men too.<br /><br />Glad to be in a field where it's impossible to, "fake it till you make it." Well, outside the bubble of academia, that is (Lots of Potemkin People in academia!).Hucbaldhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17111826753868595100noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8358039.post-80541470025884313562013-03-27T10:52:33.501-07:002013-03-27T10:52:33.501-07:00Isn't that a real accomplishment? Or are law f...<i>Isn't that a real accomplishment? Or are law firms doing affirmative action promotions these days?</i><br /><br />In some sense, it's an accomplishment, sure. I'm going to assume for the sake of argument that the woman in question really did manage to achieve her success and wasn't aided by affirmative action or anything along those lines.<br /><br />But you have to think about how a person defines success. To borrow a phrase, if you gain the whole world, but lose your soul, what have you really achieved? If the consequences of your professional success are personal misery, loneliness, hostility, desperation, and ultimately a collapsed life full of the ruins of your might-have-beens, were you really "successful"?<br /><br />The issue is that these Potemkin Women tend to think they can achieve everything equally, and indeed that they <i>deserve</i> to and are <i>entitled</i> to. Therefore, when their stunning professional successes are not matched by equal successes in their personal lives, they grow embittered. They never imagine, in their 20s and 30s, that they might have to make trade-offs or sacrifices, nor that they might need to carefully consider what truly counts as "success" in their eyes, and express legitimate surprise and grief when they realize, too late, that society has been lying to them since they were born.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8358039.post-20347007641458170282013-03-27T10:37:05.690-07:002013-03-27T10:37:05.690-07:00I'm having trouble remembering but I think I&#...I'm having trouble remembering but I think I've ran into a couple of instances where Potemkin woman coupled with Potemkin man. I didn't run in their "circles" long enough to find out how that worked out.toadoldhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12821769510849208141noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8358039.post-52621824609661324432013-03-27T10:16:45.283-07:002013-03-27T10:16:45.283-07:00TO: All
RE: Heh
Why am I suddenly reminded of tha...TO: All<br />RE: Heh<br /><br />Why am I suddenly reminded of that feminist comment about....<br /><br />....women, fish and bicycles?<br /><br />Regards,<br /><br />Chuck(le)<br />[The Truth will out....feminists are fools....]Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8358039.post-85549659405587812832013-03-27T10:14:17.305-07:002013-03-27T10:14:17.305-07:00I belong to the Nerd Tribe, and though we've g...I belong to the Nerd Tribe, and though we've got our own issues, it's a saving grace that we've *always* seen right through these Cosmo style-over-substance people. The Captain's dead on the money, though; from fake teen, to "club chick," to "lifestyles of the burning-up-that-plastic-fast-aren't-we?"<br /><br />They're (often) hot, but they've got absolutely nothing interesting to say.<br /><br />You can't catch a falling knife - all it'll do is cut you as it passes.boxingalcibiadeshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07423435926502068028noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8358039.post-30882041018576961422013-03-27T10:12:58.692-07:002013-03-27T10:12:58.692-07:00Good post. Kinda related...I have known a few of t...Good post. Kinda related...I have known a few of these gals in my 52 years, and I cannot remember one that played team sports while growing up.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8358039.post-20747432626803778962013-03-27T09:25:22.518-07:002013-03-27T09:25:22.518-07:00I've known someone like this for years. She wo...I've known someone like this for years. She wouldn't date me when we were young. None of the other guys she dated ever married her, including one she had a kid with. She got a worthless degree, doesn't make much money, runs up lots of debt and does things like change her phone number so the creditors can't call her and ask for their money. She turned into a pro-big government Obama worshipper. Her son, having grown up in the typical single poor mom household, got arrested recently and she came to me and asked for my help and I gave her some money. I suppose I should feel some schadenfreude and I do but I also just feel kind of sad for her. Marknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8358039.post-48346263381496726892013-03-27T09:13:03.924-07:002013-03-27T09:13:03.924-07:00Excellent post/observation Captain. Admittedly mi...Excellent post/observation Captain. Admittedly mixing metaphors (but at least remaining Russian in nature), but this is really a matryoshka doll of Potemikn women. Their business is after all about creating an image to sell a home. They go to bars to create an image that they are wildly successful in creating images to sell homes. And they do all of this to create the image that they are successful women, not washed up gold diggers. It is facade nested in facade nested in facade.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8358039.post-87142774521264204942013-03-27T06:50:31.548-07:002013-03-27T06:50:31.548-07:00Nice little note.
As other have mentioned Potemki...Nice little note.<br /><br />As other have mentioned Potemkin villages goes back before communisism was even a evil glint in Marx's eye.<br /><br />And to add, it generally considered that it wasn't to deceive Catherine II that G. Potemkin "decorated" villages, it was to deceive the people with her (foreign ambassadors and other gullible types).<br /><br />Catherine and Grigory had a close relationship. That sort of thing without her agreement would have disrupted that.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8358039.post-11531150243471709972013-03-27T03:35:59.656-07:002013-03-27T03:35:59.656-07:00We live in a Potemikn world.
I run into these pe...We live in a Potemikn world. <br /><br />I run into these people, men and women all the time. I dress like Redneck Joe. Add tattoos and a beard and have similar experiences. I rarely throw my money around but often get the same kind of treatment Joe did.<br /><br />I live in a rural county full of old Southron money families, and rarely see these kinds of things. I experience it/ notice it all the time in Raleigh. Charlotte...is built on the illusion of wealth <br /><br />StonelifterAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com